5 ms·

How can saying "Yes, I know" get you into bigger trouble than a speeding ticket? At best you can try to lie and state a legal speed if you were going in a borde

by dvirsky 12y ago

How can saying "Yes, I know" get you into bigger trouble than a speeding ticket? At best you can try to lie and state a legal speed if you were going in a borderline speed. Anyway, it could be different in the US (I'm from Israel, where police is brutal only if you're Palestinian or holding a political rally. Otherwise they're mostly useless). I only got pulled once, for not coming to a complete stop on a stop sign (I slowed down to almost a complete stop). I just politely said "yeah officer, I did slow down, but it's my bad, sorry". The reaction was "oh well, I see you don't have any prior traffic violations, I'm going to let this one slide, have a nice day".

pluma 12y ago
No indicates recklessness. Yes indicates intent. You're screwed either way.
- jrs235 12y ago
  No might indicate negligence, which isn't as horrible as recklessness.
- jrs235 12y ago
  Yes doesn't indicate anything except awareness. They usually will follow it up with "How fast were you going?"
- fluidcruft 12y ago
  I agree "no" is a bad idea. But I doubt "yes" has to do with intent at all. I think procedurally what the officer is doing is establishing a documentation record to support their speed facts because that makes it easy for them if/when you contest the ticket in court. The officer has a preferred narrative/mold and is trying find a way to document that you agree with that version at the time you were pulled over in case you try to change the story later in court. So "yes, I know" seems to work essentially as that blanket acceptance of the officer's narrative.
- dvirsky 12y ago
  But what's the worst that could happen? Let's say you're not drunk, you don't have anything illegal in your car, and the speed is nothing too bad. You were just speeding. Can anything you say result in anything worse than a ticket and a fine?
  - tempestn 12y ago
    I was just using speeding as an example of an interaction that most of us have probably had at some point. No, you probably won't end up with anything worse than a fine. But just like with more serious matters, you might be getting yourself in trouble unnecessarily. Sometimes police will stop someone they believe to have been speeding, without any evidence to that fact. (They saw you zip by, but don't have you on radar, and didn't get a chance to pace you, for instance.) If you say, "Yes, sorry I was speeding," or, "I thought I was only about 5 over," or whatever, now they can ticket you.
- xgbi 12y ago
  Am I reading all these comments correctly ? You guys were caught in the act and don't even admit it ? "Do you know how fast you were driving?" "Yes sir, I'm sorry I was speeding, it's been a stressful day. I have no excuse for this behavior. I won't do it again." Should be the reasonable answer. Now swallow your pride and pay the fine, and try not to do that again. My kids will thank you.
  - pluma 12y ago
    I'm not in the US. Our police officers aren't desperate to meet quotas and don't have any reason to assume a driver is armed and/or dangerous. I don't have any reason to believe a conversation with a police officer in my country will lead to anything other than improving my chance to be let go with a warning instead of a fine. That said, I'm still in my probation period (only started driving a little more than a year ago) and haven't violated any traffic laws yet at all. Most speeding checks are done with unmanned cameras anyway, so your first contact with the orderlies will be a flash followed by a stern letter a few weeks later.

by dvirsky 12y ago

pluma 12y ago

No indicates recklessness. Yes indicates intent. You're screwed either way.

jrs235 12y ago
No might indicate negligence, which isn't as horrible as recklessness.
jrs235 12y ago
Yes doesn't indicate anything except awareness. They usually will follow it up with "How fast were you going?"
fluidcruft 12y ago
I agree "no" is a bad idea. But I doubt "yes" has to do with intent at all. I think procedurally what the officer is doing is establishing a documentation record to support their speed facts because that makes it easy for them if/when you contest the ticket in court. The officer has a preferred narrative/mold and is trying find a way to document that you agree with that version at the time you were pulled over in case you try to change the story later in court. So "yes, I know" seems to work essentially as that blanket acceptance of the officer's narrative.
dvirsky 12y ago
But what's the worst that could happen? Let's say you're not drunk, you don't have anything illegal in your car, and the speed is nothing too bad. You were just speeding. Can anything you say result in anything worse than a ticket and a fine?
- tempestn 12y ago
  I was just using speeding as an example of an interaction that most of us have probably had at some point. No, you probably won't end up with anything worse than a fine. But just like with more serious matters, you might be getting yourself in trouble unnecessarily. Sometimes police will stop someone they believe to have been speeding, without any evidence to that fact. (They saw you zip by, but don't have you on radar, and didn't get a chance to pace you, for instance.) If you say, "Yes, sorry I was speeding," or, "I thought I was only about 5 over," or whatever, now they can ticket you.
xgbi 12y ago
Am I reading all these comments correctly ? You guys were caught in the act and don't even admit it ? "Do you know how fast you were driving?" "Yes sir, I'm sorry I was speeding, it's been a stressful day. I have no excuse for this behavior. I won't do it again." Should be the reasonable answer. Now swallow your pride and pay the fine, and try not to do that again. My kids will thank you.
- pluma 12y ago
  I'm not in the US. Our police officers aren't desperate to meet quotas and don't have any reason to assume a driver is armed and/or dangerous. I don't have any reason to believe a conversation with a police officer in my country will lead to anything other than improving my chance to be let go with a warning instead of a fine. That said, I'm still in my probation period (only started driving a little more than a year ago) and haven't violated any traffic laws yet at all. Most speeding checks are done with unmanned cameras anyway, so your first contact with the orderlies will be a flash followed by a stern letter a few weeks later.